


if i could (i would kiss you)

by kangtv (galacticnik)



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bae Jinyoung (minor), Lai Guanlin (mentioned), Lee Daehwi (minor), M/M, Mistletoe, That's it that's the plot, i'm bad at holidays, mentioned Lee Daehwi/Bae Jinyoung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-19 23:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13134747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticnik/pseuds/kangtv
Summary: It's Christmas and everyone wants to kiss Jihoon — Woojin included.





	if i could (i would kiss you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sigma (riecior)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/riecior/gifts).



> this is a little rushed but happy holidays everyone!! ❤︎

For the fourth time today, Woojin watches Jihoon kiss someone under a sprig of mistletoe.

It’s Christmas season. He kind of expects it. The hallways are hazardous these days, with mistletoe hidden everywhere around the corners or above the doorways. Then there are the cheeky fucks like Kim Donghan who walk around with mistletoe taped to their obnoxiously festive hats, and good luck avoiding _that_ attack if he happens to corner you after class.

Woojin has managed to steer clear from the worst of it so far. He credits his amazing ninja-like reflexes for keeping him safe during this dangerous time. There was the one time he got caught under some with Jinyoung before homeroom, but they quickly made the decision to just shake hands and move on. Neither of them were interested in getting intimate, and it helped that no one saw.

But Jihoon seems to end up under the stupid plant a lot. Woojin is convinced Jihoon just _breathes_ and it magically appears above his head, forcing to kiss whoever gravitates towards him—and there’s always someone since Park Jihoon is a fucking people-magnet. Just look at the way Guanlin’s sticking to him.

Woojin’s recently ingested lunch sits heavy in his stomach. “Who the fuck is infesting the school with this crap?” he grumbles, slumping down in his seat. There’s even one above the entrance to the classroom and frankly, Woojin is scared to get up and go pee for fear of being attacked.

Daehwi guiltily covers the paper bag on his desk with his books. “It’s tradition,” he says primly, casting a glance over his shoulder at where Guanlin and Jihoon are standing.

Woojin follows his gaze. Guanlin leans down and offers Jihoon his cheek with a satisfied smile. With a quick look up at the mistletoe dangling above his head, Jihoon sighs and leans forward to press his lips against Guanlin’s cheek. His face is a little flushed, though, and the grin dancing on his lips is not faked. Woojin sees it as a Sign, and for some unknown reason, it pisses him off. “Can you lovebirds take this somewhere else?” he calls out, leaning back in his chair. “I’m going to be sick.”

Jihoon flips him off. “Tis the season, Grinch,” he yells back. Turning back to Guanlin, he lowers his voice and mutters something to the underclassman, whose expression lights up. “I’ll be right back, okay? Cover for me,” Jihoon continues. He follows Guanlin out of the classroom to God knows where to do God knows what. Woojin _really_ doesn’t want to think about it.

What if Guanlin is _confessing?_ That’s a thing people do around this time, right? The thought fills him with dread.

Daehwi notices the annoyance in his expression and sniffs. “Are you jealous?” he asks, resting his elbows on the desk. “Because no one wants to kiss you?”

“Wha—tons of people want to kiss me!” Daehwi looks unconvinced and Woojin scrambles to prove his point. “Hyungseob wanted to kiss me!” Woojin barrel-rolled into a wall in an attempt to avoid him, but the point is that Hyungseob _tried_.

Daehwi snickers into his hands. “I meant someone who matters.”

“Ugh.” Woojin drags both hands down his face. “Well, _sorry_ I’m not Jihoon and don’t have a fucking fanclub.” He doesn’t mean to sound as bitter as he does. It usually isn’t as bad as this. Christmas and Valentine’s Day are the two occasions where the school’s Jihoon-lovers unite and crawl out of their hidey-holes to try and win! his! heart! (or something like that).

Woojin usually ends up feeling like a side character in a dating sim, the NPC best friend that serves no purpose except to crack lame jokes. Sums up his existence, he supposes. “This is an all-boys school,” Woojin adds as an afterthought. You would think Jihoon would have fewer fans, or they’d be able to control themselves better, but nah. It’s like a shoujo manga here.

“So?”

“So...” Woojin struggles to find an argument worth pursuing. “Jihoon’s kissing everyone right in front of my salad!” Daehwi shrugs as if to say, _and_ or _I don’t care_. Maybe both at the same time. Woojin ignores him and continues on. “I mean, Haknyeon didn’t even have any mistletoe. He just drew something on a piece of paper and held it above his head and Jihoon still kissed him.”

 _“So?”_ Daehwi repeats pointedly.  
  
“I’m his best friend! The only person Park Jihoon should be kissing is me!”

Silence descends over the entire classroom after Woojin’s loud outburst. Daehwi’s eyes widen. “Did you just—”

“Sorry, rewind. Pretend you didn’t hear that, yeah?” Woojin can feel his face heat up under the weight of everyone’s probing gazes. This is not the time or place for a gay crisis over his best friend. Is it even a crisis? That seems so serious. He just didn’t expect to say that out loud… and didn’t realize how it would sound. Because it _sounds_ like Woojin likes Jihoon in more than a purely platonic way. He’d call that crazy, but absolutely no one in the class looks surprised at this revelation. “Anyways,” Woojin says quickly, running a hand through his hair. “What’s in the bag?” He pokes the part sticking out from under Daehwi’s books.

Daehwi frowns but takes the bait and pulls out a green plastic thing with a flourish. It’s supposed to be mistletoe, Woojin guesses, but it’s uglier than he thought it would be. “I have a plan,” Daehwi announces. “This piece of mistletoe is going to get me out of the friend zone.”

Oh fuck. Woojin resists the urge to roll his eyes and grabs the mistletoe from Daehwi’s hands. “You’re not _in_ the friend zone,” he says, turning it around in his hands. “Don’t take the spotlight away from people with actual problems, man.”

Daehwi blinks. “What? Why?”

“You’re not in the friend zone,” Woojin repeats. “Jinyoung likes you. _Everyone_ knows.”

“What?” Daehwi’s voice rises several octaves.

Thankfully, Woojin is saved from having to explain by the man himself. Jinyoung calls Daehwi over, and as soon as he approaches, Jinyoung pulls out a bunch of mistletoe and dangles it above them with a wide grin. “Merry Christmas,” he says. Woojin hears a slight tremble in his voice despite the bravado. Daehwi tries to hold back a laugh as he leans up to kiss Jinyoung squarely on the mouth.

The classroom erupts in cheers. Hyungseob even wolf-whistles. Woojin cups both hands around his mouth and calls out, “See? I told you so!” But he’s grinning, happy that his friend’s crush is reciprocated. If only his own issues could be solved as easily.

But when he sinks back in his seat and closes his eyes, he can only think about the myriad of guys Jihoon’s been kissing all day and all the guys he’s going to be kissing tomorrow.

His palms itch. He wonders if this if Daehwi is right and this is jealousy.

Because Jihoon’s kissing all these guys, but he hasn’t kissed Woojin, not even once.

Maybe that’s the problem.

 

* * *

 

Objectively, Woojin will admit that Jihoon has a pair of very kissable lips. So _objectively_ , he can understand the desire of what feels like the entire student body wanting to get a taste of those lips. Woojin included, though he’s always classified his impulse as academically driven slash motivated by idle curiosity. Jihoon probably gives really good kisses.

Probably.

Confession time: he can’t say he’s never imagined kissing Jihoon—because he has. He cannot conclusively say that part of the reason why he’s been so pissed over the mistletoe thing is not because he’s jealous—he most likely is. Woojin _knows_ that the burning feeling in his lungs whenever he watches other guys get touchy with Jihoon is jealousy. He might not be the most self-aware person in the world, but this much is obvious.

Woojin does want to kiss Jihoon, just once, maybe (everyone else has). But he knows that if he tried to, Jihoon would laugh and push him away or swerve at the last moment. It’s their thing, you know? They joke around like that so often that it’s become an instinctual response. Woojin doesn’t even know how he could make it clear that, nah, not a joke, he actually wants a legitimate kiss without making it weird.

He thought Christmas might help. Aren’t people supposed to feel sentimental around the holidays? But then shit happened and Woojin religiously avoids mistletoe while Jihoon has too many other admirers clamoring his attention.

Woojin’s never going to get a kiss unless he mans the fuck up and somehow makes it happen himself. Easiest plan would be to take advantage of the mistletoe in spite of his many, many reservations. It worked for Daehwi (or, Jinyoung, to be more accurate). It might work for him too, if he could just figure out a way to make it happen.

All he needs is one kiss to get it out of his system. Maybe that’ll help him move on from whatever weird crush or infatuation he has and things can get back to relative normalcy between them, minus Woojin’s gross feelings. _Yeah_ , it’s just a calculated move, not because he’s been daydreaming about how Jihoon’s lips would feel on his, or because he’s studied them for too long, itching to kiss away the mischievous smiles on his face, or—

Yeah, maybe a kiss isn’t going to help with that.

 

* * *

 

 **Step one:** steal Daehwi’s mistletoe.  
**Step two:** get Jihoon under said mistletoe.  
**Step three:** profit??

It’s a loosely defined plan, but Woojin is more of an action man anyway. He can figure it out as he goes. Step one sounds easy enough; Daehwi snatched the mistle back from Woojin after the incident with Jinyoung, but Woojin knows it’s somewhere in his bag.

Since dance club practice is cancelled, all he needs to do is infiltrate the empty classroom after school and tiptoe over to Daehwi stuff to dig around for it. Daehwi doesn’t have to know he’s borrowing it (he gets weirdly territorial over his stuff sometimes) and Woojin can avoid answering any awkward questions this way.

Woojin grins to himself. The perfect crime.

If only he could _find_ it. Wait, there it—

“Wonder what people would say if they saw our vice president digging through peoples’ bags,” a voice pipes up from a distance. Woojin whips around to see Jihoon leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. “You look like a raccoon digging through a garbage can,” Jihoon continues with a smirk.

Woojin’s hand closes around the mistletoe. “I’m going to kick you. Multiple times.” He straightens up and shoves the plastic plant into his pocket. “By the way, do I need to remind you that _you_ picked me as your running mate and forced me to accept even though I didn’t wanna?” Jihoon blinks in surprise, then breaks out into a guilty smile. “I don’t have any standards to uphold here.”

“Out of pity,” Jihoon says quickly, uncrossing his arms. “I asked you to run with me because I thought it would be good for you.”

“You’d be lost without me, admit it.” Woojin is half-joking. He doesn’t think his presence matters all that much; Jihoon is a wunderkind on his own. Woojin just stands around and occasionally yells at people for him. And lifts heavy things. He’s proud of that.

“Okay.”

Woojin frowns. “What.”

“ _Okay_ ,” Jihoon repeats, grinning. He weaves through the desks and comes to sit on Woojin’s. Resting his elbows on his knees, he peers at him through long, nearly invisible lashes. Woojin can’t look at him straight-on for too long. He’s always thought that Jihoon had beautiful eyes; they seem to sparkle for no reason, like there’s some kind of magic hidden within them. “I’m agreeing with you. I’d be lost without you.”

“You’re not supposed to do that,” Woojin says. Jihoon raises an eyebrow. “Now I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything. You’re cute when you’re flustered, Woojinnie.”

“Shut up,” Woojin mumbles, ducking his head to hide his flaming cheeks. He’s used to Jihoon being a teasing little shit, but there are times when he sounds too serious and Woojin doesn’t know how to take it. Sincere Jihoon is harder to deal with than bratty Jihoon, simply because he doesn’t know what sincere Jihoon wants from him. Though he has a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with enjoying his reactions, which is embarrassing, but whatever.

Jihoon is the only person with that much power over Woojin.

“Seriously though, what are you doing here?” Jihoon continues like nothing happened. “I thought you’d be at dance club practice.”

“I was supposed to be, but the captain cancelled to take his boyfriend out.” Another thing to annoy him about this time of year: couples everywhere. “So I’m here… looking for…” Shit, what’s his alibi? Woojin looks around helplessly and seizes on the stack of papers on Daehwi’s desk. “Class notes.”

Jihoon jerks upright. “You could’ve asked to borrow mine? What the fuck.”

“Daehwi’s handwriting is neater.”

"I'm _smarter_."

Woojin laughs at the sight of the pout on Jihoon’s face. “Alright, next time I’ll steal notes off you, happy?” At least Jihoon seems to have bought his excuse for the time being.

“No. You’re not allowed to have them,” Jihoon huffs. “Fail, asshole.”

"You're a dick," Woojin says, shoving him lightly. He almost topples off the desk and shoves Woojin back in indignation, sending him flying right into the window. Woojin fakes pain and sinks to the floor with a groan, but not before Jihoon directs his attention to the mistletoe taped to the window frame above Woojin’s head.

"You fell right into my trap," he cackles, jumping off the desk. But in spite of his self-satisfied grin, Jihoon holds a hand out to help Woojin up. Woojin stares at it for a moment, then grabs it and yanks Jihoon down to his level. It’s surprisingly easy—Jihoon doesn’t resist, just tumbles right into Woojin’s lap, limbs flailing.

“ _You_ fell for _me_ ,” Wooji responds, smirking. He tips his head back and looks at the mistletoe softly swaying above him. It looks real, oddly textured, unlike the plastic stuff Daehwi pilfered from who knows where.

This isn’t how he wanted to get Jihoon under the mistletoe, but Woojin can’t complain. When life gives you lemons, might as well make use of it? He could kiss Jihoon now if he wanted, and sure, it’s a basic situation like everyone else, but the moment feels right somehow. Jihoon’s cheeks are soft and inviting, a little pink as he presses a hand against Woojin’s flat stomach to try and prop himself up.

So he does it, leans forward and presses his mouth to Jihoon’s. Their teeth knock together for a brief second before Jihoon sinks into it, and Woojin feels like he's about to combust with how sweet Jihoon's mouth is, how right it feels, how much he doesn’t want this to end—

Jihoon pulls away and they stare at each other for a moment. Then, wordlessly, Jihoon swipes Woojin's bottom lip with his thumb and pulls him in for another kiss. It's firmer this time, more sure, and when Woojin pulls away, he's breathing hard.

And _embarrassed_ as fuck. This is more than he ever could have dreamed of, but he doesn’t know what to do with it. Woojin doesn’t think he can laugh it off as a _bro, no homo_ moment (because _bro, yes, I’m a homo_ ), but neither does he know where to go from here. He untangles himself from Jihoon and scrambles to his feet, hands shaking.

“I have. I have to go uh, help Jinyoung with something.” From his vantage point on the floor, Jihoon presses his lips together (Woojin tries hard not to stare), but doesn't make an attempt to stop Woojin as he races out the classroom, the mistletoe still burning a hole in his pocket.

 

* * *

 

Here’s the thing:

Woojin enjoyed kissing Jihoon. One could even say he really enjoyed it, 10/10 would do it again. And unless he was hallucinating the whole thing, he’s pretty sure Jihoon was into it too. If that’s the case, then maybe the whole kissing thing doesn’t have to be a one-off. Contrary to what he hoped, he didn’t get his gross feelings for Jihoon out of his system. In fact, they’re growing, threatening to choke him and change everything.

But hey, Christmas is the season for confessions, right?

He tries to talk to Daehwi about it before class the next day (while returning the stolen mistletoe), but Jinyoung is there and looking way too interested in Woojin’s distress. “What did you take that for?” he asks curiously.

Woojin shrugs. “It fell into my bag,” he says. "I didn't take it for any specific reason."

Daehwi gives him a pitying smile and tucks the mistletoe into his pocket. Jinyoung chuckles and shakes his head. "Okay then. Sure."

“Hey, I actually—”

Before he can finish, Jihoon walks in, conspicuously avoiding the doorway. Good choice, because there’s a big big of mistletoe and Seonho is lurking around it looking like an overgrown Christmas elf. Woojin’s face heats up as he and Jihoon make eye contact. “Park _fuckin’_ Woojin,” Jihoon growls out, making a beeline for his desk. Daehwi and Jinyoung scatter. “We need to talk about yesterday.”

“Uh.” Everyone is looking at them. Woojin tries to hush Jihoon, but his eyes are burning with fury. Woojin isn’t sure how to pacify him. “Can we talk about this after school? I have something to tell you, actually—”

“No, we’re going to talk now so you can’t run away from me again.” Woojin cringes. To be fair, he did run yesterday, but he was just trying to figure stuff out! Somehow, he doesn’t think Jihoon would buy that excuse. He stands in front of Woojin, his hands balled into fists, and takes a deep breath. “You—you don’t need mistletoe as an excuse to kiss me, you pussy ass bitch. You can just do it.”

It takes Woojin a couple of moments to reconcile what Jihoon said with his tone. It still doesn’t compute. “W...what.”

Jihoon sighs. "You're an idiot, Park Woojin." He sounds as disappointed as he did when he got his first C.

"No I'm not!” He probably is, but the insult just puts him on the defensive. Woojin crosses his arms over his chest and tries not to focus on the stares of everyone else. “Fuck, I can’t just do it. How was I supposed to know you wouldn’t think I was completely gross and out of line?”

“Why the fuck else do you think I was kissing so many people?” Jihoon lets out a sardonic laugh. “I was trying to make you _jealous._ I wanted you to take a fucking hint.”

Is he even hearing this right? “Well! What was I supposed to think seeing you kiss all these guys?” He remembers feeling jealous, but also sick and unwanted, stuck wondering why he was the only one who didn’t seem to have the good fortune of getting the opportunity to kiss Jihoon without making himself look like a fool. And Jihoon never indicated that he’d be okay with it. “I thought you just didn’t want to kiss me,” Woojin says finally. His voice is too small for his liking.

Jihoon deflates, losing some of his bluster. “I just wanted to spur you into action, but…” Trailing off, he shakes his head and takes a step towards Woojin. “I do. I really do. I only want to kiss you.” His face softens as he reaches towards Woojin.

And Woojin doesn’t think, just leaps. Dropping his arms, he lunges forward and wraps his arms around Jihoon’s neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. Daehwi and Jinyoung lead the cheers and whoops in the classroom around them, but Woojin doesn’t care about any of that, just focuses on the blood pounding in his ears and the taste of Jihoon’s mouth.

When he pulls away, flushed, Jihoon grins and bumps his forehead against Woojin’s. “Dummy. I like you,” he murmurs.

And Woojin smiles so widely that his cheeks hurt. “I like you too, but I’d like you even more if you kissed me again.”

Daehwi helpfully holds the sprig of mistletoe above their heads. “Carry on,” he says, waving his free hand.

Jihoon and Woojin laugh, but, “Tis the season,” Woojin says, drawing him in for another kiss.

Maybe mistletoe’s not all bad either.

 

* * *

 

The next time some lovestruck guy wanders into their classroom hoping to get lucky with Jihoon, Woojin karate-chops him out the door. “The Jihoon Kissing Foundation is closed for good,” he says, putting his hands on his hips and staring Samuel down.

But when Jihoon comes over to investigate, Woojin can’t resist sneaking a kiss in full view of Samuel and everyone else, a laugh bursting out of his mouth as Jihoon sputters and puts a hand over both cheeks. “Mistletoe,” Woojin says, giving him a cheeky grin and pointing up at the plant above their heads.

“ _Cheat,_ ” Jihoon says, but darts forward to plant another kiss on his lips before heading back to his seat.

Samuel rolls his eyes and picks himself off the ground. "Fine,” he says, dusting himself off and sighing. “Merry Christmas then, y'all."

**Author's Note:**

> for haru, because it's already christmas over in your part of the world. you've been an amazing friend this year and i wanted to try and do something special for you for the holidays. can't say i succeeded, but i hope you enjoy the soft 2park!!
> 
> i don't really know if mistletoe is a thing in korea. i didn't even have time to research the high school system as much as i would like, to be honest, so forgive my lack of accuracy! i'm just here to have a good time. 
> 
> as always, thank you for reading and merry christmas!


End file.
